Killing Me Softly
by StudentofDust
Summary: Negi gazes into the future, and what he sees will change him forever. Full summary and pairings inside. AU, Negi/Chao. Takes place after the last episode of the Negima! anime, though there are some manga storyline references in later chapters. DEAD STORY.
1. Introduction

I hope this fanfic is enjoyable. I came up with this idea on a whim a few nights ago, and decided to make it into reality. It's a weird fic; some concepts you know and love, some are ideas you've never thought of before. If I can get you to ask yourself, "Could this really be how it turns out?" then my objective will be accomplished.

**Short Summary: ** Setsuna tells Negi about what Chao told her during the MahoraFest- that Chao was a "blood relative" of Negi. Negi already knows that Chao is from 100 years into the future, and he wants to find out how exactly they came about being related. So, with the help of Evangeline, he looks into the future- but what he sees is anything but good. Evangeline also aids him in going 50 years into the future, to stop the terrible tragedy he foresaw. But, what will Negi do when he begins to fall in love with Chao?

**Pairings**

Chao x Negi

Yue x Nodoka

Chisame x nobody (yet)

Kazumi x Sayo

Natsumi x Kotaro

Ako x OC

Eva x Nagi

Setsuna x Konoka

**CHAPTER ONE WILL BE UP SOON!**


	2. Nightmares

**Negi's Room, Saturday**

"Gotta run, guys! See you two later!"

The door opened, then slammed shut. Unfortunately, the loud noise woke Negi up.

"What…" he muttered.

"Don't worry about it, Negi-kun," Konoka said with a smile. "That was just Asuna almost late for her paper route."

Negi looked at the clock. Sure enough, it was a few minutes past five o'clock. Then, Negi remembered something.

"Erm, Konoka-san…" he said, still not fully awake, "it's the weekend. Asuna-san never has to work on weekends."

"Her boss called her yesterday and asked if she could cover for someone who was out sick. Being Asuna, she said she would."

Negi groaned and flopped back down onto the bed. He wished for the life of him that Asuna hadn't woken him up- he had been enjoying a rare good dream, one in which he was reunited, finally, with the Thousand Master.

"Good dreams never come true, do they?" Negi asked himself, before drifting back off into sleep.

"_This looks familiar..." Negi thought as he drifted along a snow-covered valley. "But where have I seen this before?" He looked down at himself- only to find that he was… well, naked._

"_Oh, this is just great…" Negi grumbled. "Let's just hope no one can see me."_

_It was only then that Negi realized just how odd this situation was. "What the…" he muttered as comprehension dawned on him. "This only happens when I'm in someone else's dreams… but I'm pretty sure I went back to sleep. So, could I be doing this in my dreams? I've never heard of a mage entering into someone's dreams while _they're_ dreaming, though…"_

_He drifted along a little further, still trying to make sense of it all. He entered a thick patch of woods; for a second, he was afraid of hitting the trees, but when his body passed right through one, he relaxed and just let himself flow on to… wherever he was going. When he got through the woods, a smile cracked his face._

"_This is Mahora Academy!" exclaimed Negi. "I know where I am now!" He jerked his head around suddenly, afraid that someone might have heard him; it seemed, though, that those around him could neither see nor hear him._

"_Well, since I'm only asleep," thought Negi, "I'll take a bit of an unofficial tour." He floated through the door and along the hallway, making sure to keep above everyone else, if only to prevent himself from accidentally eavesdropping on their conversations._

_Going on a bit further, he noticed Nodoka and Haruna standing near the entrance to his classroom._

"_Where do you think Negi-sensei is?" asked Nodoka. "I'm a bit worried about him."_

"_Why?" asked Haruna. "And as for where he is… Konoka probably just forgot to wake him up…"_

"_Maybe…" said Nodoka, and that was the end of that._

_Negi began to get a little bit concerned. "Why would Nodoka-san be so worried about me?" he asked himself. "Maybe… since I'm only dreaming… I could read her mind, like she can do with her artifact… and find out just what's bothering her. I am her teacher, after all…"_

_Floating down to where he was in between Nodoka and Haruna, he placed his hand on Nodoka's forehead; her thoughts began to flow between them._

"_I don't know what I'm supposed to do now," Nodoka was thinking. "Is Asuna really in love with Negi? That's what she was going to tell him… up when they were in that tree…"_

_Negi tried to think of what she could be talking about, as he severed the mental connection and floated back up to the top of the hallway. "Up in the tree…" Negi's jaw dropped as he remembered- right before Asuna's soul was taken by the demon, they were up in that tree, having that conversation… "Nodoka-chan overheard that? Oh, man, maybe I should tell Asuna-san about that…" He laughed to himself when he thought this, though, remembering that this was, after all, only a dream. The smile faded off his face, however, when the reality of what Nodoka had thought sunk in._

"_There's no way…" he thought to himself as he floated along again. He closed his eyes, not afraid of floating into anything. "Could Asuna-san really be in love with me? This is just the dream-Nodoka's thoughts, but… Asuna-san did seem to be looking at me funnily, so… I guess it's possible. But what would I do, if it were true? I already have Nodoka who's in love with me, not to mention Class Rep-san, Makie-san…"_

_Negi opened his eyes once more- and was surprised to find himself facing the main entrance to the Academy… from the outside. "I floated all the way outside…" Negi thought to himself, laughing softly. "Shows how lost in thought I can get…" _

_He was about to go back into the school when a light, brighter than any he had ever seen before, filled his entire vision. Negi closed his eyes reflexively, but the light continued to blind him. Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the light disappeared. Negi opened his eyes again- and was absolutely shocked at what he saw around him._

_The whole of the Academy lay in ruins; it was as though something had demolished the entire campus. Negi floated along, in a daze; he saw no one roaming the streets, no one flocking to the damage to find the ones they called friends. He turned a corner and found himself facing the dorm, where he and Asuna and Konoka lived. It, too, was completely in ruins. He made his way over to where he and the others had once lived. Looking down, he felt all the wind rush out of him- he saw a petite hand sticking out of the rubble. Watching in amazement, he saw Konoka struggle up out of the rubble, only to flop onto the ground. She looked up at Negi, as though she could actually see him; she flashed him one last smile, before she closed her eyes; her hand dropped to the ground as her last breath left her body._

_Negi felt himself going downward; he tried to fly back upwards, but it was as though gravity had tired of him defying her. He landed sharply on the ground, and winced as his kneecaps hit the bricks._

"_Guess you really can feel pain in a dream," he thought dryly; he couldn't take it anymore, and his tears began to flow. He covered his face with his hands, letting all his tears flow over Konoka's lifeless body. Negi noticed a thick darkness covering the campus; he looked up to see ominous clouds covering the sky; one of the clouds parted, and a being made of light came down to him. When the figure got close enough, Negi saw who it was- and hid his eyes._

"_NO!!!" he yelled. "It can't be you!!!"_

_The figure of light reached out to him, and-_

Negi awoke suddenly, bolting upright; he was drenched in sweat and could hardly breathe. It took him a good five minutes to calm down enough to look down to see if Konoka really was dead. Of course, she wasn't; she was asleep again on her bunk. Negi also saw Asuna near his loft, alive and well, though clearly asleep, also.

"Do mages always have these weird dreams?" Negi asked himself. He lay back down, though he didn't want to go back to sleep- in case his nightmares came back to haunt him.

**World Tree Plaza, the same day**

The plaza was deserted, much to the chagrin of Kazumi. She had really hoped that someone, anyone would be there. Even Sayo, the class's resident ghost; Kazumi had really gotten to like Sayo over the past few months. She (Kazumi) was even thinking about whether or not she had fallen in love with Sayo.

_It'd be freaky if I have fallen in love with her,_ Kazumi thought. _A regular human and a ghost… weird._

Kazumi sat down on a bench, setting her camera in her lap. _I can already tell this is going to be a long day._ She slouched down, letting her head touch against the back of the bench. She didn't think she was going to sleep, but she lay her head down all the same.

Suddenly, Kazumi jerked her head up. "Ah crap!" she said aloud. "I completely forgot I told my parents I'd send them a tape of what Mahora is like!" Picking up her video camera and setting it onto "Record" mode, she began to pan the camera around the plaza, talking as she did it.

"Hey, mom; hey, dad," she said. "Sorry this is a bit late getting to you guys; there's been so much to do around here…:

As she kept talking, she began roaming the streets, explaining various aspects of Mahora life; how Mahora was basically a self-contained city, with restaurants, grocery stores, and anything else to make the students feel like home there. She eventually got to their dorm.

"This is where I stay," Kazumi said. "It's not bad, but it could be better. Heh… Negi-kun makes life so much more fun." She caught herself. "Sorry, I haven't mentioned him yet. Negi-sensei is our new English teacher. He's only 12, but he's already been teaching here for two years. I think you guys would like him; I think he's pretty cute, myself… in a little kid way, you know," she clarified.

It took her about two hours to get the whole campus covered; she ended up back at the plaza, where she shut her camera off and dropped heavily onto the same bench she had been at.

"Two hours of my life practically wasted…" she muttered. "Now onto the process I hate the most- editing…"

As she watched the video, she began to notice things she hadn't seen before- flags hanging in windows, the color of blinds in shop windows… There was about a half hour of tape left for Kazumi to go through, when suddenly the entire screen grew black.

"What the hell?!" she said out loud. "Don't tell me this thing screwed-" She never got the last part of her sentence out, though, because of what she saw on the screen then.

It was a small pinpoint of light, in the center of the screen; funny thing was, though, it was getting bigger… and bigger…

As it grew in size and clarity, Kazumi's jaw dropped. _It can't be…_ she thought to herself. _It looks like… a person. But I don't know of any person who is completely made out of light. _As whatever was on the screen grew closer, she could see that it was, indeed, a person. Then, she noticed something else that made her blood run chill: the camera was on record- and pointed straight in front of her. Kazumi looked up slowly and sure enough- a black sheet covered a large area in front of her; the person she had seen in the camera was now close enough so she could see some vague facial features.

_Whatever the hell this is_, she thought, _this is_ way_ too good for me to pass up._ She had just stood up to go up to… whatever it was-

"Um, Kazumi?" she heard from behind her. Kazumi's heart leapt into her throat; she turned around, ready for the worst-

"Is this a bad time?" Sayo asked, a look of confusion on her face.

"No, no…" Kazumi muttered. She turned around again; whatever that thing was, it was gone now. She turned to face Sayo.

"You feeling alright?" Sayo asked again.

"Yeah, just thought I saw something."

Sayo smiled; she looked quite relieved. "I'm glad you're alright," she said, with what looked like a blush coming across her face.

"So am I," Kazumi said, her voice distant; she seemed to not even notice the loving way Sayo was looking at her, at that point. She looked behind her, as though she didn't trust whatever it was to stay away from her with her back turned to it. Soon, she began to walk away, Sayo close behind her.

**Negi's Classroom, Monday**

Negi walked into class about ten minutes early; he saw only a few people there- Setsuna and Konoka were talking animatedly, Kazumi (who, to him, looked a bit out of it) and Sayo were, oddly, also deep in conversation, and Nodoka was trying to hide the fact that she had begun to blush furiously when Negi walked in. Negi simply smiled at them all, and began to finalize his lesson plans. Soon, the rest of the class had entered, and Negi greeted them and launched into his lesson, though not everyone was paying attention to what he was saying.

_There is absolutely no explanation as to what the hell it was I saw,_ Kazumi was thinking. _Could it have something to do with Negi-kun being a wizard? It seems like something Negi-kun would get involved with…_

Nodoka, however, was on a completely different train of thought- one that, to both her liking and embarrassment, involved her and Negi in some very… erotic situations.

It was Setsuna, though, who had the biggest decision ahead of her. _Does Negi really need to know about this? I mean, I'm not sure if what she said was even true- it just sounded so out there. Then again, what about this school- and Negi- isn't out there? _Her resolve hardened, though, and she decided to tell him.

At the end of class, Setsuna stayed behind. Negi finished erasing the board, then turned around to get his stuff, only to find Setsuna standing by his desk. He jumped back a bit.

"Oh, Setsuna-san, you're still here. I didn't know you had stayed behind." He sat down. "Was there something I could help you with?"

"Do you…" she began, "do you remember MahoraFest?"

A grin broke Negi's face. "Do I? It was awesome!" His smile faded a bit though. "But why bring it up now, Setsuna-san? It was so long ago."

"Well, you see, after you left… to use the facilities… I went to go find Chao-san."

"Oh, that's right," Negi said, remembering. "How did that go?"

"Well," Setsuna began, "I didn't have to go very far. She found me first."

Negi's smile faded the rest of the way. "Did she know you were looking for her?"

"I don't see how," Setsuna replied. "But that's not the point. Negi-sensei… she told me something that day. Something about you."

Negi leaned in, very interested. "What exactly did she say about me?"

"She said that… you and her were related."

Negi's jaw dropped; he leaned back in his seat, trying to get his mind to wrap itself around what had just been said. "Chao-san told you… that she and I were related? Did she say exactly how?"

"No," Setsuna replied. "Just that you were a blood-relation, and that she wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"That's odd…" Negi mused. "How could Chao and I even be related? As far as I know, my father didn't have any other children, and I don't think he had any brothers or sisters…"

"I've been trying to figure this out myself for quite some time now," replied Setsuna. "I'm sorry I can't be of any more help to you."

"That's quite alright," Negi said, getting up.

"Where are you headed?" Setsuna asked.

Negi looked at her, more serious than he ever had before. "There's someone I have to see."


	3. Something Wicked

**Ladies' Bath Hall, Monday Night**

"Does the water seem a bit cold to you?"

Konoka turned around, to find Yue and Nodoka at the bath's edge; Nodoka had stuck a toe in the water, to test the temperature, and found it a bit cold. Yue, on the other hand, had hung back, apparently waiting for Nodoka's judgment.

"Oh, sorry," said Konoka, "were you talking to me?"

"Yeah," replied Nodoka. "Does the water seem a bit cold to you? Or did it at first?"

"No, not really… I've been in here for awhile now, so I guess I've just gotten used to the temperature."

Nodoka still looked unsure, like she didn't know whether she was going in or not. That didn't matter for long, though, as Yue ran up to her from behind and shoved her into the water. They were near the deep end, so luckily, she wasn't hurt- just surprised.

"What was that for?!" Nodoka asked when she broke the surface. She didn't get an answer from either Yue or Konoka, though, as both were laughing hysterically.

"It wasn't that funny…" Nodoka muttered.

After a minute, they finally calmed down. "I've got some homework to finish up, for Negi-kun's class; otherwise, I'd stay. See you guys later." Konoka got out of the bathing area and, wrapping a towel around her, exited the room.

Yue turned to Nodoka. "Sorry if I scared you, pushing you in like that. It was just too good to pass up."

"Come here," said Nodoka. Yue walked over to the edge and took hold of Nodoka's outstretched hand; both of them smiled, as their faces turned red.

"I forgive you," said Nodoka. Yue smiled in relief, just in time for Nodoka to say, "Now it's your turn!" Nodoka gave a sharp tug, and Yue toppled over into the water. When Yue surfaced, she looked a bit shocked. "I… I thought you said you forgave me," Yue sputtered.

Nodoka smiled. "I did. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to have a bit of fun of my own…"

Yue feigned hurt. "Alright, you've done it now!" Yue lunged for Nodoka, but Nodoka side-stepped and dodged the attack; Yue was smart, though, and as she passed Nodoka, she stuck her arm out, bringing the pair down into the water. After a bit of rough-housing underwater, the two emerged

"Oh, it's on now!" said Nodoka, splashing at Yue and sending a sizeable wave of water her way. The water crashed down, and Yue went under. When she came up, she splashed at Nodoka back, and in a few moments, water was flying everywhere. After a few minutes of rapid splashing, Yue tiredly swam over to the side of the bath and leaned up against the edge; Nodoka joined her in a matter of seconds.

"That… was fun…" panted Yue.

Nodoka laughed. "With… everything that's gone on… we haven't had much time to do anything together…"

"So true…" said Yue. She reached over and took Nodoka's hand. "How 'bout this: you wanna go grab dinner out tonight? Just you and me?"

Nodoka looked up, surprised; she and Yue hadn't been out on a date in ages. "I'd love to, but… why tonight?"

This time, it was Yue who started laughing. "It's just that… well… I've been thinking about this myself, lately, and… I wanted to do something for you…"

Nodoka pushed herself up out of the pool, but not before leaning over and giving Yue a quick kiss. "We'll get dressed, then head out." Standing up, Nodoka took a step forward- and stopped dead in her tracks.

"What's up?" asked Yue, noticing the sudden way that Nodoka had stopped.

"Do you see that?" asked Nodoka, pointing over towards the bath entrance/exit.

Yue looked over to where Nodoka was pointing. "Yeah… I see the door."

"No, not that… that black, shadowy thing in front of the door."

Yue squinted, but still couldn't see anything. "Erm, Nodoka… there's nothing over-"

Nodoka held a finger to her lips, and motioned for Yue to be quiet; as soon as Yue fell silent, Nodoka reached into her bathrobe and pulled out her _pactio_ card. "_Adeat_," she whispered, and her artifact came forth.

Nodoka opened the _Diarium Ejus_ and said, "What is it that you want?"

"Nodoka…" whispered Yue, "what in the name of _Shiisa_ do you think you're doing?" Yue looked at the _Diarium_ and saw words begin to appear. _That can't be right,_ thought Yue. _Usually, that only happens when Nodoka's trying to read someone's mind…_ Yue laughed out loud. _Oh, _now_ I get what she's doing… she's reading her own mind and making it look like something's there._ She looked at the book again, but when she looked above the words, she saw a different picture there- one that looked nothing like Nodoka.

_If only I could get a better view of that picture…_ thought Yue, _I might just be able to figure out what the hell is going on here… _Yue shifted over to the left a bit, and got a better view of the picture; her jaw dropped. "There's no way…" she said aloud. "That… that's-"

Suddenly, the picture and words vanished, and Yue heard Nodoka say, "It's gone…"

"What the hell _was_ that thing?" asked Yue.

Nodoka looked at Yue, a scared look on her face. "He was about to tell me… when he just disappeared."

"He looked… familiar."

Nodoka looked up at Yue, a bit surprised. "You said… you said you couldn't see it, though…"

"I got a glimpse of it by looking at the picture in your artifact," responded Yue. "I was just about to figure out who or what that thing was, when the picture disappeared."

"That must have been when it went away." Nodoka's voice sounded dejected. "I wonder if we'll ever see it again…"

"Do you think it has anything to do with Negi-sensei?" asked Yue.

"Why would you ask that?" asked Nodoka.

Yue noticed she was blushing furiously; she laughed. "So you _do_ still like Negi-sensei… well, no worries. Anyways, I was wondering if this was something magical, something that Negi-sensei might know something about."

"Could be," replied Nodoka. "You want to go ask him?"

"Maybe later," said Yue. "I heard him mention something to Setsuna-san about going to Eva-chan's place."

"Wonder what he's doing over there?"

"Couldn't tell you," replied Yue, motioning for Nodoka to follow her. The two began to walk towards the door, though neither of them were walking on steady legs.

**Mahora Academy, Drama Club Room, Earlier that Afternoon**

She sat all alone in the room, practicing her lines. Most people would have found it repetitious, but for Natsumi, it was necessary- the big Mahora Academy play was in a week, and she needed to do some major studying of her lines, if she was going to be ready. She heard a scrape behind her, like someone had run into a chair; when she turned around, though, no one was there. _I'm hearing things…_ she thought as she turned around- and let out a sharp squeak.

"Kotaro!" she said. "What'd you do that for?"

Kotaro didn't exactly hear this, because he had fallen on the ground laughing. "Oh, come on, Natsumi-chan…" he finally managed to say after a minute, "it was funny. You should have seen the look on your face…" He couldn't say any more, but simply fell on the ground again, laughing.

Natsumi looked at Kotaro, a look of annoyance on her face. "Listen, Kotaro, I _have to_ get these lines memorized for the play…"

Kotaro stopped laughing and got up, leaning against the wall. "To be honest, Natsumi, I completely forgot you were in the play…" (_I'm not surprised one bit…_ thought Natsumi) "What are you guys doing again?"

"We're doing a dramatic interpretation of the tale of Taro Urashima."

"Taro Urashima, eh? Sounds fun. When is it?"

Natsumi looked at him, even more annoyed than before. "I just told you this morning, Kotaro! It's next Friday!"

Kotaro backed away. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I'll just leave you alone, let you study…" Kotaro moved in a bit and gave Natsumi one last kiss, before he walked around her and out the door.

_I know this is important to her,_ Kotaro thought as he walked along the hallway, _but I think she really needs to lighten up a bit… She's taking this drama thing way too seriously… _

As he exited the building and walked out onto the grass, he began to feel that something just… wasn't right. A chill ran down his spine, and he shivered, trying to get the feeling of dread out of his mind. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but think that something was about to happen- not to him, but to someone he was very close to. And even that thought was too vague for Kotaro's liking: he wasn't sure if it was Negi, or Natsumi-chan, or _who_ it was.

As Kotaro took a few steps away from the building, another chill hit him; this one, though, was so strong, it knocked him to his knees.

_What the hell is going on?!_ he asked himself as he struggled to catch his breath. _This has most definitely _never_ happened to me before... why does it seem like Death itself is here?_ Slowly, achingly, Kotaro got to his feet. He looked up, to see where he was going, when he saw it.

It was gliding towards him, almost like… it _knew_ him, somehow. The closer it got, the colder Kotaro felt inside.

"Well," he said out loud, to no one in particular, "now we know where those chills came from. But… how long has that _thing_ been watching me, stalking me?" He simply stood there for a minute or two, hoping that… whatever it was would stop and turn around. But it didn't; it just kept advancing, and the cold inside Kotaro grew steadily worse.

Finally, Kotaro could take it no more. "You want some?" he yelled. "Come get some!!!" At this, he unleashed his Inugami swarm, directing them at the creature. He thought that, at the very least, this would scare it off, but it didn't even do that. As the shadow-dogs neared the beast, a hole opened up in the center of its cloaked body, if you could bear to call it that; the hole swallowed up the Inugami and shut itself.

_I can't even affect it with my Inugami?!_ Kotaro thought. _What _can_ beat this thing?_ He looked closer at it, realizing in horror that, not only had the Inugami not hurt it, they'd actually caused it to grow bigger (_and more powerful... _he thought wryly).

As it continued to advance, Kotaro felt his knees grow weak; they finally gave, when it was about twenty yards away from him, and he fell to the ground. He felt the pain, as his knees hit a patch of sharp rocks, just barely sticking up out of the ground.

Finally, he managed to look at it again; rage blazed in his eyes. "I WILL NOT LET YOU BEAT ME!!!" he screamed, as he flung himself at the beast. This proved to be fruitless, though, as he merely passed through his cloak and out to the other side. Kotaro skidded to a halt; without a glance, he fired off more of his Inugami behind him, hoping against hope that this batch would hit him.

When he heard nothing, Kotaro slowly turned around to face his ethereal attacker. He was gone.

"I scared him off…" he thought aloud. "Not sure how, but… I guess I did."

Just then, a thought crossed his mind. "Dammit!" he said, running towards the school. _What if he went after Natsumi-chan? It'd be my fault…_ Running faster than he ever had before, he raced towards the drama room, praying with all his might that Natsumi was okay.

**Evangeline's House, Monday Evening**

It was nearly dusk, when Negi finally walked over the last small hill. The view of Evangeline's house broke over the road, and Negi smiled. Even though there was a vampire that lived in that house, one that had tried (and succeeded) on multiple occasions to drain Negi of his blood (for "payments" or otherwise), he always liked coming here. Whether for vigorous training or just passing by on one of his weekend hikes, he thought it was the best-kept house he'd ever seen.

But, he thought, today's not for pleasure. He took a deep breath and crossed the rest of the way to the front porch. He had only raised his hand to knock when the door opened. Negi looked up in surprise; his shock was only elevated when he saw who it was who had opened it.

"Master?" he asked in surprise. "Doesn't Chachamaru usually take care of reception duties?"

Evangeline smiled. "Chachamaru is away; Hakase is taking a look at some of her hard-drives. In the meantime… what the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, I need your help-"

"Obviously," interjected Eva, still grinning evilly. "So what can I do for my disciple today?"

Negi braced himself. "I need your help… help me to look into the future."

Eva's smile faded from her face. "Why would you want to find out what happens in the future? Unless… is this about her?"

"About who?" Negi asked, though he thought he knew whom it was that Evangeline was referring to.

"About Lingshen Chao, of course. Remember: I _was_ there when she told everyone she was from the future."

"Er, right…" replied Negi, now feeling a bit foolish. "So… can you?"

"The question isn't 'can I?" It's 'will I?'"

"Will you?" asked Negi.

Eva's grin returned. "What can you do for me? You know, in return for letting me use my devices."

Negi thought for a minute. "I can find out something that you've been wanting to know."

Evangeline laughed. "If that's all I wanted, don't you think I could have done that on my own?"

"I don't know… maybe what you've been wanting to find out, you can't for some reason. You can't see it, because it's going to happen to you…"

In his thought, Negi didn't notice that Evangeline had gotten oddly quiet when he said that, for that was exactly Eva's dilemma.

"Okay, fine…" Eva said, "but this one time only." She motioned for Negi to come inside; when both were in the doorway, the door shut, leaving the outside world as quiet as it had been, the day it was born.


	4. Encounters

**Mahora Academy Dorms, Monday Night**

The lights were on all throughout the academy dorms; it had just begun to be nightfall, and the light outside was growing dimmer by the minute, so the lights automatically turned on to illuminate the students' pathways. Right about now, the students were all over the academy- some were in the park, enjoying the light, refreshing breeze; some were at the gym, playing a round of basketball or doing a little swimming. One room, though, was occupied, by just one person, completely engrossed in what she was doing.

Her computer screen flashed, betraying the otherwise dark room- it was only because of this that anyone looking in through the outside window could even tell that someone was in the room. This was just the way that she liked it- to live her personal life in secrecy, and distance it as far away as she could from her "other" life, her school life...

The computer beeped once. "You've got mail," it said, as a pop-up box appeared in the lower right hand corner of her screen, telling her the exact same thing the computer itself had just told her.

Chisame sighed; it was probably just another annoying spam ad, or some credit card company wanting her to establish a line of credit with them. Much to her surprise, though, it was from one of her classmates.

_Chisame,_ the email started off, _ if you would, I'd like you to come down to the university lab for a few minutes. Chachamaru said she wanted to talk to you about something, but she won't tell me what it is for the life of her... Well, not literally, of course, but... I think you get what I mean. Just come down here whenever you get this message._ It was signed simply, _Hakase._

Looking a bit puzzled, Chisame looked at the date that the email was sent. From the date and time, she figured out it was sent about five minutes previously. _Why in the world would Chachamaru want to talk to me? Is this about what we were talking about at MahoraFest?_

She made up her mind, then clicked on the reply button: _Sure, Hakase, I'll be over in about ten minutes. I just need to get dressed and head out._ She pushed the "send" button, then turned her computer screen off; she had originally planned to do a couple of photo shoots of "Chiu" that night, but she decided that could wait. Her curiosity had outweighed her desire to get her shoot done...

Checking to make sure that the blinds were closed, she took off her windbreaker jacket and pants, leaving her standing in her room with just her bra and panties on. Glancing over at the mirror, she couldn't help but smile; she really did like the way her breasts were filling out lately. Though, if only her skin weren't so pale... That was one of the only things that she didn't like about her body... Snapping out of her revery, she grabbed her pants and put them on slowly, then grabbed an old t-shirt and put it on. Oddly enough, the shirt had "Chiu" printed in large, bold letters across the front chest; no one seemed to get the reference, though- they all just thought that Chisame was another fan. Everyone, that is, except for Negi... one of the only people who knew the "real" Chiu...

Stepping outside her door, she stopped for a moment. _Something tells me that I'm forgetting something..._ she thought to herself. For the life of her, though, she just couldn't remember what it was that she was forgetting. Keeping the door propped open, using her body's weight as a prop, she patted herself down, trying to figure out just what she was forgetting... _Alright, I've got my school ID so I can get back into the dorms, I've got the key to my room, I've got my gum, my flash drive..._ Her mind was at a blank as to what she thought she'd forgotten, so she simply shrugged it off and stepped out of the doorway, letting her door shut behind her.

Briskly walking along the hallway, Chisame glanced around nervously every few seconds; she just couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed... but every time she glanced around, trying to catch her supposed stalker, there was always just dead air around her... _I'm going paranoid. Maybe it's from staying on the computer so much..._ She opened the door leading to the outside world, and stepped out.

The sun was just beginning to go down, so the heat was still lingering around her, but it wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been this time of year. Still, a bead of sweat ran down Chisame's face; she brushed it away absentmindedly, squinting into the light, trying to find the direction she was supposed to go in. She'd only been over to Hakase's lab once, though she had an excuse for never going over to the university side of campus- she had a few years left before she would be able to attend school in that district. Five and a half, if she had it calculated it correctly.

Finally, she figured out what direction she was supposed to go in, and headed that way. As she walked along the sidewalk, again at a brisk pace, she still couldn't help but think that someone was watching her every move; this made her shudder in fear, despite the heat surrounding her. She shook her head slightly, trying to shake the thought out of her head, but all it did was recede into the recesses of her mind, ready to pop up at the most opportune moment...

It took her only a few minutes to walk over to the other side of campus, and get to the building that housed Hakase's lab; it didn't look like it at first, but Chisame could be quite athletic, if she wanted to, and she could walk pretty fast most of the time. She opened up the door, and heard a greeting from the other end of the hallway: "Welcome, Hasegawa." She looked up to see Hakase standing by the elevator, grinning widely. "Welcome to my world."

"Erm... thanks..." was the only response that Chisame could come up with; to keep herself from sounding like more of a complete idiot, she asked, "Did Chachamaru ever tell you what she wanted to tell me?"

Hakase shook her head sadly. "Not even a hint. If it's something that she won't even tell her creator... I can't even begin to guess what it could be..."

Chisame smiled. "Let's head up there, and we can talk about it on the way up." She walked forward to join Hakase by the elevator, and the two stepped in, as Hakase punched in the floor number.

"This really isn't like her, you know," said Hakase, sounding utterly bewildered. "I mean, she'd usually tell me anything." She looked up suddenly at Chisame, as though an idea had just hit her. "Do you think she likes you?"

This one threw Chisame for a loop, and she laughed nervously. _A bisexual robot...? I mean, I guess it could be possible, but in what fantasy world?_ "I don't think that'd be it... I mean, we were together for about two or three hours one day after MahoraFest, and she didn't mention anything that would make me suspicious..."

"True," replied Hakase, as the door slid open after they had reached their floor. "But what else could it be?"

"Beats me."

The two stepped off the elevator, and headed in towards Hakase's lab. "It's a bit of a mess," warned Hakase before opening the door. "I don't get much time to clean up around here."

"No problem," replied Chisame. "As long as I don't trip over anything big, I'm fine."

The door slid open, and Chisame's jaw dropped; she'd never been in Hakase's lab before, and was absolutely astounded at the mechanical gadgetry that filled up her lab. Of particular interest to Chisame was a large computer, complete with a modem the size of Chisame's bed.

"You like it?" asked Hakase, noticing Chisame's interest in the computer. "Biggest computer I've ever built." Just then, Chachamaru opened a door that Chisame had missed on her initial scan of the room, and stepped out of what could have been a recharging room.

"Oh, you're here," said Chachamaru, seeing Chisame. "We need to talk."

"So I've heard," replied Chisame. She turned to Hakase. "So, is robotics all that's inside Chachamaru?"

"As far as her actual body is concerned, yes, but I do use some magic to help her systems run smoothly."

Chisame stopped dead in her tracks. "You... know about magic?"

"Sure, I do. A lot of people at this academy are students of magic."

_Should have known... This explains a lot of the weirdness around here..._ "So, Chachamaru, do you want to go anyplace to talk?"

"That won't be necessary," said Hakase. "I need to run to the library and pick up some books, so you two can just talk in here-"

"Actually," interrupted Chachamaru, "I'd be more comfortable if we were out on the grounds walking."

Hakase looked surprised, but said, "Alright... If you're not back by the time I come back, I'll just come find you."

Chachamaru and Chisame walked out into the hallway, and entered the elevator; it began to descend.

"Why do we need to talk outside?" asked Chisame.

Chachamaru looked at her in all seriousness. "Something's been following you, and I want you to see what it is."

_You knew the entire time? Why didn't you tell me? _"What 'it' is?"

"I don't think it's human. In fact, I don't even think it's from this world."

"From the magical world, then?" Chisame didn't want to know the answer, but she asked it anyways.

"My guess is yes."

They exited the building, and walked over to the park. "This is where most of the sightings have occurred, so we'll just wait here." She noticed that Chisame was staring off into the distance. "What is it?"

In response, Chisame just pointed. Chachamaru looked over her shoulder, to see a shadowy being floating to them. As it approached them, the air seemed to grow much colder, and Chisame felt like all the happiness would just float away from her...

"Is that what's been following me?" asked Chisame.

"Yes," replied Chachamaru. "I believe it is from the magical world."

The thing was about four or five feet away from them, when Chachamaru said, "Let's go." She picked up Chisame and, putting her over her shoulder (and ignoring her cries of protest), ignited her jets, sending them soaring up into the sky.

"What _was _that thing?" asked Chisame; she looked down to see if it was following them, just in time to see it disappear, leaving no trace it were ever there.

"As I said, I'm not sure," replied Chachamaru, "but I do know one thing for sure- we can't beat it on our own..."

**Evangeline's House, Later That Night**

"So let me get this straight," said Evangeline as she leaned back in her rocking chair, "You want me to let you use a very sophisticated piece of equipment- one that I haven't used in over a hundred years- to look into the future and find out whether Chao is really related to you or not? Why the future, may I ask?"

"You were there," replied Negi. "She said she was 'from the future,' so the most obvious choice is to look into the future."

Evangeline sighed, as she let the chair fully rest on the ground. "Listen, kid, I'm not trying to discourage you from doing this; I know you must be dying to find out what Chao-san meant by that. But here's a bit of advice, from master to student: some things in the future aren't meant to be changed-"

"But I'm not trying to change anything!"

"-And some things, even by simply _looking into the future_, will change just because of that one event," continued Evangeline, as though Negi had never interrupted her. "And the whole thing is, neither you nor I know what kind of trouble we could get ourselves into even by looking to future events."

"I'm willing to accept that risk," was Negi's reply.

Evangeline had a look of apprehension on her face. "Once we do this, there's no going back, you know."

"I know. And I still want to do this."

"Fine." Eva got up, and went over to a seemingly solid section of wall. _Cantanus, occimatum, parlichanta_, she chanted in a sing-song voice... or something like that. Just as she finished, a door appeared, and Evangeline opened it.

"Wait, Master."

Evangeline turned, smiling. "Having second thoughts already?"

"No, not at all. I was just wondering... what was that thing that you wanted to know, but you couldn't find out for yourself?"

Eva seemed to consider this for a second, then beckoned for Negi to follow her. "Follow me, Negi-bozu, and I'll tell you on the way down."

Negi walked over to where Evangeline was standing, and the two descended into the darkness; the wall closed up, leaving the spot just as bare and bland as when the house had been built.


End file.
